Kansas House advances bill to greenlight sales tax hikes in five counties

Sherman Smith sherman_news

Thursday

Feb 7, 2019 at 5:09 PMFeb 7, 2019 at 5:09 PM

The House advanced a bill Thursday to authorize four counties to hold votes on raising sales taxes to cover local projects.

Also included in House Bill 2033 is legislative blessing of an unauthorized tax increase already adopted in Finney County.

Rep. Adam Smith, R-Weskan, urged lawmakers to support local authority over the requests, which failed to pass the Legislature a year ago.

Funds from a 1.5 to 1.75 percent sales tax in Thomas County would help pay for a courthouse, jail and law enforcement center. A half-cent tax in Russell County would pay for economic development. In Jackson County, the 0.4 percent increase would pay for infrastructure. Dickinson County would seek a half-cent sales tax for road work.

All of the increases would have a limited time span.

"These local communities really need this to get done," Smith said.

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, complained that Finney County acted inappropriately by allowing voters in 2017 to approve a 0.3 percent increase without first seeking approval as required by law. The sales tax there will pay for infrastructure upgrades for 15 years.

"We shouldn't be conducting advisory elections and then coming back to the Legislature and saying, well, let's ratify this action after the fact," Carmichael said. "Finney County needs to follow the law just like the other counties involved in this bill."

He also asked Smith whether he would agree that sales taxes are generally regressive.

"Sales taxes are sales taxes," Smith said.

Carmichael said "of course" sales taxes "fall most heavily on those least able to pay."

"This concept that just because the majority of the voters in a particular county think it's a good idea to jack up the sales taxes on everyone in the county, including those least able to pay, doesn't mean that we should just rubber stamp that idea every time it comes along," Carmichael said.

"The effort to reduce or limit the increases of sales tax on food I think is a valued one and a good direction to head," Johnson said. "My concern with this one would be the consistency between various numbers."

“With ever-rising property taxes, this is a bill that truly provides relief,” Holland said. “Kansans who qualify for this program will get a check back from the Department of Revenue when they process the income tax return.”

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